Ontario’s AstraZeneca waiting period may be lowered: experts

Speculation began Friday night that Ontario will lower the 12-week wait time for people whose first COVID-19 vaccine was an AstraZeneca jab.

Such a policy change would be welcome for residents of Mississauga and Brampton, as well as other cities with relatively young workforces in the construction and service sectors. Both Mississauga and Brampton have been prioritized for second dose vaccines due to being delta variant hotspots, although Hamilton has not despite having a high positivity rate.

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie and Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown and their counterparts in other cities have said that the 12-week waiting period leaves essential workers at risk. Both they and doctors have pointed out that a person who has only one dose is more likely to contract COVID-19, and possibly spread it to others while being asympomatic, than someone who has received their second dose.

Both Brown and Crombie wrote to the government on Friday asking for the interval to be cut to eight weeks.

I’m proud of Ontarians who took #AstraZeneca to help curb the 3rd wave. It’s only fair we give them the same protection as everyone else.

That’s why like @patrickbrownont, I wrote the Ontario Gov’t urging them to shorten 2nd dose intervals to 8wks for ppl who got AZ as dose 1. pic.twitter.com/u5C2cH8TnT

— Bonnie Crombie ?? (@BonnieCrombie) June 11, 2021

Wrote the @ONgov with a request to make #mRNA 2nd doses available in #DeltaVariant hot spots after 8 weeks rather than the current 12 week period for those that got #AZ. Our residents shouldn’t be disadvantaged because they stepped up & took their first vaccine available to them. pic.twitter.com/d3X5HcshYf

— Patrick Brown (@patrickbrownont) June 11, 2021

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On Friday night, two infectious diseases experts with large Twitter followings, Dr. Isaac Bogoch and Dr. Ryan Imgrund, said they expect the 12-week interval will be shortened. Cheri DiNovo, a prominent former Ontario NDP MPP, also suggested that a “drastic shortening” is in the works.

Bogoch serves on Ontario’s COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Task Force. Imgrund is a biostatistician with 67,600 Twitter followers. Both shared email correspondences with Dr. Kieran Moore, the incoming Chief Medical Officer of Health for Ontario.

In case anyone in Ontario is wondering about shortening the duration for 2nd doses in those who received a 1st dose of AstraZeneca’s #COVID19 vaccine… https://t.co/RzA107qhF3

— Isaac Bogoch (@BogochIsaac) June 11, 2021

PREDICTION GOOD NEWS June 11: Because of YOUR pressure the Government will announce a drastic shortening of the wait for #SecondDose @AstraZeneca in the next few days. BOOK asap

— Cheri DiNovo (@CheriDiNovo) June 11, 2021

⭐️⭐️ BREAKING NEWS ⭐️⭐️ Stay tuned folks. Stay tuned.#8WeeksNot12 pic.twitter.com/wcUxjWYjHC

— Ryan Imgrund (@imgrund) June 11, 2021

This is what a CMOH is supposed to do. Listen. Engage. Respect. Respond. Thank you Dr. Kieran Moore for standing up for science & people. You can actually do both. And thanks @melissatadeson too! https://t.co/ZPqHDPkJZ6

— Abdu Sharkawy (@SharkawyMD) June 12, 2021

All other jurisdictions in Canada have an eight-week waiting period for AstraZeneca recipients. Ontario’s present policy is 12 weeks regardless of which vaccine a person wants for their second dose.

Any official announcement would come from the Ontario Ministry of Health.